As
I read through the Old Testament and Epistle readings, I was struck by the
contrast between people, who withhold from
one another, and God, who does not
withhold but gave up his own Son for us and with him also gives us
everything else.
The
story told in Genesis is that of the family chosen by God in order to bless all
the families of the earth. It is worth reminding ourselves of this, because as
the story unfolds, that family does not show itself to be especially promising
raw material. Abraham’s grandson Jacob is a cheat and a deceiver, who exploits
his twin brother for personal gain, withholding food to him in order to extract
privilege, and at his mother’s encouragement goes on to exploit his father’s
disability in order to secure a position over his brother. This Jacob then
flees from his brother’s anger, runs for his life, runs to the house of his
uncle Laban, his mother’s brother. Laban welcomes him, but proves as scheming
as his sister Rebekah, exploiting his nephew in order to secure a husband for
both of his daughters.
This
account is problematic for us, as to our minds it presents women as mere
property. We need to look past our own sensibilities in order to see this very
different, ancient culture; and if we can do so, we will see that both women
are loved, and that both men take seriously the need to secure a future for
Leah and for Rachel. Nonetheless, there is deception upon deception going on
here, and as the story unfolds the sisters will continue to vie for the
attention of their shared husband.
And
nonetheless, God will work through all of the mess of human relationships, of
men and women acting out of their insecurities and self-interest. God will work
in and through all this to turn a family into a nation of tribes, and will work
through the mess of the rivalry of twelve brothers to save the great Egyptian
empire and surrounding peoples from seven years of severe famine.
It
is a story of human unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness, and it is our story.
‘We
know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose,’ we heard read out today. This is a difficult
verse to translate. In a footnote the alternative possible translations are
offered: ‘God makes all things work together for good…’ or ‘in all things God
works for good…’
One
rule of thumb where a verse can be read in more than one way is to hold all
possibilities as revealing different facets of truth. If all things work
together for good, it is not immediately apparent. Nonetheless, God is
committed to working through the struggling of humanity against humanity in
order to reconcile all people in and through his Son Christ Jesus, the Nazarene
who was handed over to a scheming humanity who would condemn him to death,
handed over in the ultimate expression of God being for us not against us,
raised from the dead and interceding for us.
Because
death could not contain him, we can be confident that nothing will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not being forced to
flee our homes, as our brothers and sisters in Mosul are being forced to flee
their homes. Not being shot out of the sky. Not the First World War whose
centenary we are about to mark, or the wars that rage in our world today. These
things are not good – they are not God’s good and pleasing and perfect will for
his children and his world – and yet God is at work to enfold those who have
died, and those who have taken life, together within his loving purposes.
God's
goodness is so good that it not only
sustains human goodness but also, ultimately, redeems human wickedness. Both
are necessary in our world.
While
we wait, while we live in the midst of the unpromising raw material of grace, we
find ourselves at times, and certainly at times like today, not knowing how to
pray. There are no words. Here, too, God does not withhold himself from us, but
pours out his Spirit in our hearts. The Spirit interceding on our behalf with
and within us. Christ Jesus interceding for us at the right hand of God in
heaven. And God, creator and judge of all, for
us not against us.
Scripture
is very honest about the human condition and experience of suffering. These
things should not surprise us. Yet, however dark the world becomes, despair
does not get to have the final word. For the final word is that word-made-flesh,
God-with-us. That word is Love.
So
today let us renew our daily decision not to withhold ourselves from God or
from our neighbour, but to give ourselves, generously,
to
love our enemies,
to
work towards the reconciliation of divided communities,
to
give love voice.
